Hong Sheung Chui, Fenton G. Sharpe and John McCormick
Describes a study which investigated the relationship between the vision and five dimensions of leadership behaviour of principals in Hong Kong. A survey was carried out on 48…
Abstract
Describes a study which investigated the relationship between the vision and five dimensions of leadership behaviour of principals in Hong Kong. A survey was carried out on 48 secondary schools involving 548 teachers. Half of the sample schools were in a pilot scheme of school‐based management, the school management initiative (SMI). Factor analysis and multiple regression were used to analyse the data. The results suggested that five dimensions of leadership behaviour were all significantly related to the vision of principals for both types of schools. Whether the school was participating in the SMI or not also had a significant effect on the relationship between the vision of principals and three dimensions of leadership behaviour. Contrary to the expectations of the SMI and the suggestions by some researchers that teachers need to be particularly empowered in schools undergoing reforms, the findings of this study demonstrated that for principals with average and below average scores on vision, the degree of empowerment perceived by teachers in schools under the SMI was lower than for schools not under the reform. However, principals with high vision in schools under the reform had the highest scores in all five dimensions of leadership behaviour. The SMI may provide opportunities for leaders with vision to bring about a better environment for school improvement. These results provide important insights for those responsible for the implementation and evaluation of the SMI in Hong Kong, and perhaps for other systems devolving decision‐making power to more self‐managing schools.
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Benjamin Y.M. Chan and Hong Sheung Chui
Presents a study which investigated how school councils operate in the Australian state of Victoria and how parent councillors participate in the affairs of the school council…
Abstract
Presents a study which investigated how school councils operate in the Australian state of Victoria and how parent councillors participate in the affairs of the school council. Data were collected through a questionnaire survey on 172 schools, as well as visits to schools and attendance at school council meetings. Proposes a theoretical model linking personal, institutional and community‐related factors to the successful operation of the school council. Uses data collected in the survey to test and confirm the model by using structural modelling analysis. Concludes that most of the parent councillors are relatively highly educated and the working class is under‐represented in school councils. Finds several factors to be positively associated with successful operation of school councils: the readiness of and mutual acceptance between parents and teachers; commitment of principal; parents’ satisfaction with their participation; and parents’ contribution and donations to the school.
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Elsie Yan, Haze K.L. Ng, Rongwei Sun, Daniel W.L. Lai, Sheung-Tak Cheng, Vivian W.Q. Lou, Daniel Y.T. Fong and Timothy Kwok
This study aims to explore the risk and protective factors of abuse on older adults by family caregivers, with a special focus on the protective role of caregiver resilience in…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore the risk and protective factors of abuse on older adults by family caregivers, with a special focus on the protective role of caregiver resilience in elder abuse.
Design/methodology/approach
This cross-sectional survey was conducted on a purposive sample of 600 family caregivers of community-dwelling older adults in Hong Kong (mean age = 71.04 and female = 67.2%). Caregivers reported in a guided interview about elder abuse behaviours, caregiver burden, care recipients’ agitated behaviours, caregiver resilience, self-efficacy, social support and basic demographic characteristics. Hierarchical linear regression analyses were conducted to examine the predictors of different forms of elder abuse.
Findings
Caregiver resilience was predictive of lower levels of verbal abuse, physical abuse, injury and financial exploitation but not potentially harmful behaviour (PHB). Social support was independent with all forms of elder abuse, while self-efficacy predicted greater physical abuse after the adjustment of confounding variables. Caregiver burden and agitated behaviours by care recipients remained as significant risk factors in the final models when protective factors were considered.
Research limitations/implications
This study extends current knowledge on the protecting role of resilience in elder abuse in family caregiving. Mixed findings revealed on social support and self-efficacy also highlight the complexity of the prediction of caregiver abuse. Further research should address this area.
Practical implications
The findings of this study warrant the inclusion of caregiver resilience as a key component in developing interventions to prevent elder abuse. Addressing caregiver burden and agitated behaviours have the potential in preventing elder abuse.
Social implications
The findings raise awareness of the importance of supporting caregivers in the community to prevent elder abuse.
Originality/value
Research concerning the protective factors of elder abuse is in a preliminary stage. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is among the first which successfully demonstrates the protective role of resilience in caregiver abuse on older adults. The findings shed invaluable light on the design of effective interventions.
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This paper seeks to argue that racially discriminatory zoning in Colonial Hong Kong could have been a form of protectionism driven by economic considerations.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper seeks to argue that racially discriminatory zoning in Colonial Hong Kong could have been a form of protectionism driven by economic considerations.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper was based on a review of the relevant ordinances, literature, and public information, notably data obtained from the Land Registry and telephone directories.
Findings
This paper reveals that many writings on racial matters in Hong Kong were not a correct interpretation or presentation of facts. It shows that after the repeal of the discriminatory laws in 1946, an increasing number of people, both Chinese and European, were living in the Peak district. Besides, Chinese were found to be acquiring land even under the discriminatory law for Barker Road during the mid‐1920s and became, after 1946, the majority landlords by the mid‐1970s. This testifies to the argument that the Chinese could compete economically with Europeans for prime residential premises in Hong Kong.
Research limitations/implications
This paper lends further support to the Lawrence‐Marco proposition raised in Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design by Lai and Yu, which regards segregation zoning as a means to reduce the effective demand of an economically resourceful social group.
Practical implications
This paper shows how title documents for land and telephone directories can be used to measure the degree of racial segregation.
Originality/value
This paper is the first attempt to systematically re‐interpret English literature on racially discriminatory zoning in Hong Kong's Peak area using reliable public information from Crown Leases and telephone directories.
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Yung (Simon) Yau and Ho Ling Chan
To develop a multi‐criteria decision‐making framework for evaluating different schemes of urban regeneration project.
Abstract
Purpose
To develop a multi‐criteria decision‐making framework for evaluating different schemes of urban regeneration project.
Design/methodology/approach
Urban decay in Hong Kong has long warranted community concern. To tackle the problem, there are generally two different approaches, namely building rehabilitation and redevelopment. In the past, urban regeneration was dominated by complete redevelopment. However, with the rise of the concept of sustainability, the choice of building rehabilitation is becoming increasingly popular. Nevertheless, with either option, difficulties are often encountered in balancing the diverse interests of the stakeholders, who have varied aims and ambitions for the achievements of a project. Therefore, we have developed a framework, which contains the factors to be considered when planning an urban renewal project. To obtain the relative importance of these factors in a reliable but reasonably inexpensive manner from the building‐related professionals, the Non‐structural Fuzzy Decision Support System was employed. In total, 34 building surveyors and 31 town planners were interviewed using structured questionnaires.
Findings
The set of perceived weightings of the decision criteria obtained from building surveyors was quite different from that from town planners. People of different backgrounds hold divergent views towards the relative importance of the decision criteria in an urban regeneration project.
Research limitations/implications
Due to the resource limitations, individuals from the professions of building surveying and town planning were studied only.
Practical implications
To achieve a credible decision‐making process, it is therefore advisable to have a balanced mix of members in any urban regeneration project decision making panel. Also, the framework developed in this study can be used to facilitate the decision making process in the future project.
Originality/value
This paper is the first attempt to explore the relative importance of various criteria for the decision‐making process in urban regeneration projects perceived by different professionals.
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This paper aims at illustrating how the local and the decentralized temple management bodies were made governable and governed through law.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims at illustrating how the local and the decentralized temple management bodies were made governable and governed through law.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper examines the implementation of Chinese Temples Ordinances (the Ordinance) and the activities of the Chinese Temples Committee (the Committee) in Hong Kong during colonial times by analyzing official archival records from 1920s to 1970s.
Findings
This paper delineates how the local and decentralized temple management bodies were made governable under the Ordinance. The Ordinance and the Committee translated Chinese temples into financial resources for Chinese charity activities managed by the elite merchant class. Chinese temples were also sometimes translated as obstacles for land development. Though there existed different representations of Chinese temples in practices, the Committee and related officials provided legal reasons under the same legal framework suggested by the Ordinance.
Originality/value
This paper suggests that folk religion as a research topic is not only relevant to studies of religious doctrine, belief and ritual performances. A study of the history of temple management bodies is also highly relevant to the study of colonial governance in Hong Kong. It adds value to the discussion on the trajectory of the development of local communities.